When I came back from the Gate in the afternoon the next day, I had a surprise waiting for me in the front of the Hostel.

I blinked at Bethany in shock. “What are you doing here?”

In the entire two months of our friendship, she’d never been here. In fact, none of the important people in my life had been here. I didn’t even know she knew where I lived, but it made sense that she could figure it out. She had access to nearly every Hunter file, if she asked her Dad. She was his spoiled princess, and he never told her no.

There was something wrong with seeing the gorgeous Bethany standing outside the dingy E Hostel. Her blonde hair fell down her back in thick loose curls and her lacey white dress, pink jacket, multi-colored silk scarf, and knee-high brown boots stuck out like a sparkling diamond in a bucket of pebbles.

Tenants walked in and out of the front door, craning their heads to get a better look at the celebrity that graced our small neck of the woods. Every time the door opened, it revealed the crowd hiding on the other side, watching Bethany with open curiosity. Most of the windows on the front of the building were also full of watchers. Seriously, didn’t they have better things to do other than stand there and stare?

At least Bethany was used to it, so she didn’t seem to mind. “Is it always so loud around here?” She glanced toward the back of the Hostel, where the sounds of construction echoed painfully.

I walked over to her, too used to her bodyguards to be frazzled by their suddenly unfriendly stares. I guess Mr. Wilks didn’t approve of me anymore. “The workout building fell down a couple months ago,” I explained in the simplest way I could without going into details about how I was the reason. “A month ago, they finally started to build a new one. I think it has another month before they finish.”

She scowled and rubbed her diamond studded ear. “It's so loud. How do you sleep?”

I smiled and shrugged. “I’m usually gone before they start in the morning. And city rules make them stop working by 9PM. Since I don’t spend that much time here, it’s not that big of a deal.”

The person who had to deal with it the most was poor Henry. The sound was driving him nuts. Every time I talked to him, he looked so haggard from the constant noise. But he was still excited over the new gym, so he didn’t complain too much.

“Hm.” She obviously still thought it was a pain. “I’ve only been here for fifteen minute and I already think it’s dumb.”

I sighed, caught between amusement and exasperation. “You didn’t have to come here, you know. You could have called me, and I would have met you somewhere else.”

She grinned and tossed her hair over her shoulder. “I know. But I wanted to surprise you. I mean, you surprised me, so it’s only fair.”

Marco walked out of the Hostel doors and stopped, his mouth dropping open at the sight of Bethany. He looked at me and his shocked expression shifted to confusion. I could see the wheels turning in his mind, as if he was debating what to do. He moved to come closer. The instant he shifted in this direction, every bodyguards’ eyes zeroed in on him. Even the invisible ones — not that Marco would know. Marco froze under their frigid stare before he hurried back into the Hostel in a rather disgraceful looking retreat.

Bethany didn’t even notice the whole thing.

I glanced at her. “What surprise?”

“I totally didn’t know you were going to the party tonight.” She laughed. “I can’t tell you how excited I am that you’re finally coming to a party with me. I mean, not really coming with me. I actually can’t hangout with you, since I’ll be on the job and in charge of entertaining the guests, but you know.” She shrugged.

No, I didn’t know. “What party? What are you talking about?” A sense of dread settled in my stomach.

She looked at me like I was crazy. “The reception party in a couple hours? The one set up to greet the Hunters from the Quebec and West Coast Gate. I was floored when I saw your name on the list.”

I gaped at her. “I thought it was just a small meeting to get to know other Hunters. He said I didn’t even have to go if I didn’t want to.” I wasn’t planning on going. With that many high leveled Hunters in the room, the ego in the air would be so thick, who could breathe? Besides, I didn’t belong in a place like that.

Bethany snorted and shook her head. “Ah, no. It’s a big deal. Eden is the headquarters of the Hunter’s Association, so they’re going to roll out the red carpet to make sure all the other Hunters know that we aren’t some backwater town. Everyone is required to go.”

My stomach sank like a bag of rocks. I could already guess what was going to happen next.

Bethany slipped her arm around my shoulder. “So, I’m here to make sure that you look as amazing as I know you can. Those other Hunters are going to know that no matter what your rank is, you are worth your weight in gold.”

I patted her arm. “That’s really nice of you, but —”

“Nope. It’s already a done deal. Let’s go. The stylist is already waiting, and we don’t have a lot of time. Stylishly late doesn't work for the hostess.” Bethany gripped my shoulder and marched me down the street. “My car’s just ahead.”

“Stylist?” I gaped at her. “Where are we going?”

“My house.” Bethany beamed. “I already have your outfit ready for you. You remember the amazing outfit I picked out for you a couple days ago? I thought it would fit perfectly for this occasion. Chic. Sexy but not slutty.”

A very expensive car rolled slowly down the street toward us, something that had never graced the streets of E District since it was built, I was sure.

My mouth dropped open. God, I’d only ridden in a car a couple times my whole life. “Hang on, Bethany. This is a bad idea. I don’t think your dad likes me too much.”

She actually laughed. “Yeah, he’s had a stick up his butt for the last couple days. What did you say to him? Anyway, as long as I start to cry, he’ll cave.” Sometimes her honesty was simply amazing. “Besides, he’s not home and even if he was, he wouldn’t say anything to you.”

A bodyguard opened the back door to the expensive car and bent his waist to bow her in.

“Ooh, this is going to be fun!” Bethany squealed as she shoved me in the car.

*****

I thought everyday in the Gate was a battle to survive. It was a brutal, merciless ordeal that would never end. But after the last two hours, I would gladly choose the Gate. I’d been scrubbed, primped, and slathered with so many bottles of stuff that I didn’t even feel like myself anymore. The stylist said that she went with a natural beauty look, but she still covered every inch of my face in layers of makeup. Admittedly, I looked good. I’d never been so beautiful in my life.

My hair was in perfect beachy curls that softened the image my sporty-glam clothes gave. And I smelled like perfume. It wasn’t the little kid fruity stuff that I played with Aliya with; it feminine and sexy and way over my budget. It smelled really good, but it drove me nuts because it muffled all other scents.

Bethany’s car pulled up to the side of the most prominent club in A District. I looked out the window at the marble, tinted glass, and steel building. Lights were placed in strategic locations on the building to cause the white stone to almost glow in the dying light. Pale blue energy crystals were embedded in the steel, making the building pop all the more.

I swallowed hard and nervously ran my hand over my blaringly bare left thigh. Since my right thigh was covered in leather, I couldn’t get used to the feel of air on my left leg. “I really don’t have to go,” I muttered, trying to take the shameful route of retreat. It’s not like I was going sword to sword with these people. There would never be a day when I was ready for a verbal battle.

Bethany reached out and fidgeted with my bangs for a second. “Nope. You’re coming. You look amazing, don’t worry. I can’t hang with you the whole time, but if you run into trouble, you can come get me immediately. Okay?” Her thick blonde hair was half pulled up, creating a beautiful knot on her crown, while the rest of her curls fell down to her butt. Her opalescent wrap-around dress hugged her features. Somehow, it made us look like a match, her high-class glam paired with the sporty glam that I wore.

“Let’s go. We’re a little early, but there’s things I have to set up.” Bethany opened the door and took the hand of the bodyguard standing outside the door.

Instead of the usual black armour that the men normally wore, they were all in black pants, shirts, and leather jackets. Cool and sophisticated looking. For the first time, I noticed that all of her bodyguards were attractive men, something that I’d bet was in the job description. They weren’t clones of each other, but each had undeniable appeal in one way or another.

After Bethany exited the car, the bodyguard reached out for me but I waved away his hand and got out by myself. Bethany grabbed my arm and dragged me up the short steps into the building. The foyer was done in the same aesthetics as outside, nothing out of the ordinary, I guessed. Then the lead bodyguard opened the doors in the back of the foyer and Bethany pulled me in.

It was like walking into a whole new world — one that I would never be ready for. The front door opened to a mezzanine that wrapped around the dance floor and bar below. The whole club was dark — the ceiling, walls, and flooring were all solid black or a black-and-navy swirled design. Two large rectangular pillars, which looked like a giant had taken the ends and twisted them, rose from the ground all the way up to the extra tall ceiling. Bright, glowing-blue crystals gleamed along the sides of the pillars all the way up. The blue lights lined the mezzanine and around the dance floors with glowing crystals in glass vases on round, brushed metal serving tables. Large chandeliers dripping hundreds of rows of crystals dangled from the ceiling. Hidden lights hit the crystals and reflected back, creating tiny rainbows everywhere. In the back of the massive room was a sophisticated bar in front of a feature wall made out of diamond shaped brushed metal and hidden white lighting.

I stopped just inside the threshold and felt my mind explode. “I definitely don’t belong here.”

Bethany laughed and dragged me in. “Now you do. At least for the night. In a couple years, we’ll come back and celebrate your official drinking birthday here. Until then, have a Coke.” She motioned to a circular table on the right side of the mezzanine. “I gotta go talk to the manager. Anything you order is on me. Literally. It’s my club, and friends eat free.” She laughed at my shocked face and waltzed off, her bodyguards trailing behind her.

Feeling like an ant in a giant’s house, I walked over to the far side of the mezzanine and sat down at a table. The lighting was low, but that didn’t matter much to a Hunter. I could still see every detail perfectly. Honestly, I would have been more comfortable if I couldn’t see it. There wasn’t even anyone that I could people watch either, since the party didn’t start for another twenty minutes — if people were on time.

With nothing else to do, I opened my Guide and started to read go over fighting forms and moves. Mentally, I envisioned each move, practicing it over and over, just like I had in real life.

My concentration snapped when someone walked in my direction. I looked up and stiffened.

Mr. Wilks, dressed in a suave pinstriped suit, walked over to me, several bodyguards in black suits following behind. His blond and gray hair was combed back away from his high forehead, making him look a little too dashing for a man with an adult daughter. Then again, he was an A Mage Hunter. He’d probably only physically aged five years in the last two decades. “Good evening,” he said and sat down across from me without asking.

“Good evening.” I nodded my head, suddenly not sure what to do with my hands. In the end, I folded them in my lap and sat with my back straight. Was this when he wolud tell me to stay away from his daughter like I was a stupid punk?

He leaned back and crossed his legs, like a king in his realm. Then again, if Bethany owned this place, then Mr. Wilk’s name would be on it too. “I have to say Miss Devhro, I don’t know exactly what to do with you.” He narrowed his eyes at me. “Should I make you disappear or not?”

*****